More Ghanaians volunteer for Ebola trial

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences and the lead Scientist for the Ebola Vaccine trial in Ghana Prof Fred Binka hinted that a lot more Ghanaians now appreciate the essence of the impending Ebola vaccine trial and are willing to volunteer for the exercise.

This according to him was as a result of the ongoing public education across the country to demystify the fears and concerns raised by the public and some stakeholders against a planned Ebola Vaccine trial in the country.

The decision by the government and the World Health Organization to conduct the exercise in the Hohoe in the Volta region was met with stiff opposition from the people and pressure groups who alleged they were being used as “guinea pigs.”

The forum which began in Accra then to Kintampo and Navrongo was also held in Ho on Monday to allay the fears of the people and also answer the many questions surrounding the exercise.

Speaking to Citi News, the focal person Prof Fred Binka said the sensitization is making headways as response from citizens have been encouraging with some volunteering for the vaccine trial.

“I have been to four regions. In fact when I went to the other regions especially Greater Accra and Upper East, I had many people coming to volunteer; they want to take part in the vaccine trial. So I think truly it was lack of some information that people don’t have and we have learnt our lessons,” he said.

Prof Fred Binka explained that the vaccination was basically to introduce a non-replicable “image” of the virus to the body so that the body systems can develop enough arsenal to fight the real disease.

He added that process has been scientifically proven to be safe and can be administered to healthy adults.